


The Man With the Blue Eyes

by aserene



Category: CSI: Miami, NCIS
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-05-17
Updated: 2020-05-20
Packaged: 2021-03-03 01:14:40
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 5
Words: 8,236
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24226429
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/aserene/pseuds/aserene
Summary: “Jenny...” even her name was painful. “She was sick.”“Yes, they called it ‘Broken Heart’ Syndrome; us Shepard women just don’t seem to have very good luck with men.”“Your sister served her country,” Gibbs said.“I know. With all the lovely words spoken then, I just thought I should let you all know.”“Let us know what?” Gibbs inquired.	“Is there something about Jenny we should know about?”“Oh...probably...you buried the wrong woman.”
Relationships: Horatio Caine/Julia Winston, Jethro Gibbs/Jenny Shepard
Comments: 9
Kudos: 29





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> And so we continue quarantine writing with an older story I took down from FanFiction.net but is still probably one of the more amusing things I wrote.

Leroy Jethro Gibbs had always been an early riser. He was usually the first one to work, only beaten out by Ziva David, the assassin of his team. Lately, it seemed as if he never left, or if he did make it home to sand the boat, he was back at NCIS before the sun rose. Naturally, the team said nothing, but there were lingering glances of sadness, and Abby hugged him just an inch tighter every time she saw him. On weekends if Gibbs weren't in his basement, he'd be at his desk doing paperwork. The first time it had occurred, it had left Tony DiNozzo speechless. The previous Director of NCIS would have been shocked to have the paperwork turned in on time; Director Leon Vance took it for grant it. 

The team had discussed it multiple times, but there was nothing they could see as being a possible cure. They'd called for back up in the form of Mike Franks, but one shouting match later told them Franks wasn't a welcomed visitor. Ducky had tried to get through the time, trying to get the younger man to move on from his grief, but he too fell at a dead end. They knew the cause, the death of a loved, and not just any loved but possibly the second and last woman to have ever held the heart of Leroy Jethro Gibbs. Jenny Shepard, though, was dead, and the team wasn't sure they could resurrect the dead. 

So when the beautiful blonde strutted her way into NCIS headquarters off the elevator and walked over towards Tony, it took him a minute to place together with all the pieces.

"I'm looking for Jethro Gibbs," she said rather determinedly, and for a moment, Tony cursed his Boss. 

"Uh, Gibbs..." Tony struggled, but the woman was a distraction.

"Agent Gibbs is in the lab, McGee call him!" Ziva snapped in the direction of her other team member, who was looking somewhat identical to Tony. McGee snapped out of his daze and picked up the phone.

"So, what is a lovely lady like yourself doing looking for Gibbs?" Tony inquired, having recovered.

"You must be Tony," she guessed. 

"Very special Agent Anthony DiNozzo at your service, and you are?"

"Uninterested in staying longer than I have too. I have sunny Miami to get back too."

"And you came here for Gibbs?" Tony really was struggling with this.

"DiNozzo, shut up and do your work, tell your date to go home."

"She's not..."

"She's here to see you, Gibbs," Ziva filled in. Gibbs glanced over at the blonde woman. There was something familiar about her, but it didn't click.

"You are?" Gibbs demanded.

"My name is Julia Winston."

"Have we met?" 

"No, not in person. I wanted to see the man who buried my sister."

"And your sister was?" Gibbs inquired, having no interest in the woman.

"Lila." With that, Gibbs' world stopped. "Then again, you probably just called her Jenny; she always did like her middle name better." With that, the team froze and looked up at the blonde woman. Tony felt his jaw drop.  _ It totally figures she'd have a sister. _

"I'm...sorry for you loss," Gibbs managed to struggle past his teeth. "She never talked about you."

"No, nor I her."

"If you've come for her stuff..."

"I understand there was nothing left. The fire consumed everything," Julia said. 

"Yes," Ziva answered, watching as Gibbs swallowed a few more times. She was suspicious but had to be the real deal if she knew Jenny's first name. There were few alive who did. "We could escort you to the cemetery..."

"That won't be necessary," Julia assured, reaching down as a phone rang. She smirked at the number.

_ "Where the hell are you?" _

"In D.C."

_ "The father of your child is here and trying to take me into custody." _

"Oh, Hayley, what did you do now?"

_ "Nothing. Now get your ass back here and then I'm going to ground you if you're doing what I think you're doing." _

"I'm putting my demons to rest and finding out a thing or two about regret. I'll be back soon. Tell Horatio to take Kyle for the night, and we'll talk when I get back." She clicked the phone shut and placed it back in her expensive handbag. 

"Family business?" Gibbs asked.

"My son and his father," Julia answered. "We're having some family issues lately."  __

"Jenny..." even her name was painful. "She was sick."

"Yes, they called it 'Broken Heart' Syndrome. Us Shepard women just don't seem to have very good luck with men." 

"Your sister served her country," Gibbs said.

"I know. With all the lovely words spoken then, I just thought I should let you all know." Julia turned and made her way to the elevator, Gibbs on her heels, the team not too far behind. She stepped in and hit the button for the floor. 

"Let us know what?" Gibbs inquired.

"She was right; you do have the most startling blue eyes, must be another thing about us Shepard women, we do love our men to have blue eyes."

"Is there something about Jenny we should know about?"

"Oh...probably...you buried the wrong woman." Gibbs went to stop the doors, but they had already closed. It took him half a second to recover, and he darted towards the stairs, Tony and Ziva hard on his heels, McGee calling Abby.

Gibbs went to stop the doors, but they had already closed. It took him half a second to recover, and he darted towards the stairs, Tony and Ziva hard on his heels, McGee calling Abby. They reached the bottom floor just as Abby did but found no one. Gibbs ran outside to see if he could spot her, but he didn't and came back, looking worn and defeated. 

"DiNozzo!" 

"Find out who she is and if this sister claim is true, on it, Boss."

"No."

"Boss?"

"She was Jenny's sister."

"Gibbs, it is not terribly difficult to find out about Jenny, anyone..."

"Boss, we can just..."

"Get us on a plane to Miami."

"Miami, Florida?" Abby piped up slightly confused as to what was going on.

"Boss..."

"We're going to deliver her flag to her nephew," Gibbs snapped and retreated into the elevator the doors closing before the team could get in. He flipped the emergency switch and punched the wall. 

\--

Four hours later, in sunny Miami Dade, Julia Winston got out of her black Porsche and walked into her upscale home. Kyle was sitting on the couch, playing a game she had got for him, and glanced up at her as she came in. He pointed out to the patio where Julia remembered Horatio comforting her so many times. She stepped out and found Horatio there with the other woman.

"Julia, why...where have you been?" Horatio asked, calming down upon seeing her. He had gotten overprotective of her since the whole pill thing.

"I was in Washington, D.C."

"Doing?" "Visiting NCIS' finest."

"NC...what?"

"Naval Criminal Investigative Services, they recently lost their Director."

"Right...the woman in the house fire," Horatio said. 

"Yes, Hayley has been staying here looking after Kyle and until she can find her own home. I didn't know you two knew each other..." she trailed off, looking over to her friend Hayley.

"I was here working with the race cars for a bit; there was a murder committed. Lt. Cane suspected me. I was cleared.

"And you left Miami, why are you back?"

"Because I liked the weather," she remarked sarcastically. 

"Julia, she's..."

"Horatio, please, I know what I'm doing. Now you should probably head back, NCIS is going to come looking for me."

"What did you do?" "This I didn't have control over."

"Julia..." he sounded tired.

"Their former Director was my sister." 

"What?"

"Always surprised me too, I wasn't the best apple in the family, more like Dad than anything. Jenny, though...you think I'm horrible Horatio, you would flinch at the things she's done."

"Julia...you're scaring him," Hayley cut her off. "How did you piss off NCIS?"

"Who said I did?" Hayley glared at her before turning on her heel and going inside the house. 

"Julia, what aren't out telling me?" Horatio asked, gently pulling a wrap around her pale shoulders.

"Hayley is a good friend of mine; she's never done anything wrong."

"She knew about a murder."

"She's never committed a murder, at least not to my knowledge, and I would know."

"She seems to close to Kyle."

"We go way back, she did mention you once, but only to compare you to another man," Julia teased.

"Oh?" "Apparently she has a thing for blue eyes, he was the only man she loved."

"And this man?"

"I suppose one day I'll find out if he actually loved her," she answered. "Now, are we done with this?"

"For now... I'm going to have to take her into custody temporarily."

"If you must...Hayley!" The woman reappeared and glanced from Horatio to Julia. 

"Plotting my demise?" "Already been tried," Julia remarked. "Horatio has to take you in."

"Don't suppose I get a phone call?"

"I don't think you'll need one," Julia assured. She walked with them through the house, Kyle saying his goodbyes. As she watched Horatio help Hayley into the car, she couldn't help but think that her perfectly crafted plan was coming together.


	2. Chapter 2

It had taken Abby all of about thirty seconds to find out who Julia Winston was and this mysterious Horatio. After the initial discovery, she printed out photos and addresses while McGee stood beside her booking hotel reservations and plane tickets. Tony was entertaining Ziva with the wonders of Miami Beach, and Gibbs had disappeared somewhere. Privately they both assumed he'd gone home to retrieve the flag he had been given during the funeral service. When the team called with details on Julia Winston and her Horatio, he had said nothing and hung up the phone as soon as they were done speaking. 

He wasn't surprised that Jenny's sister was still alive. Jenny had mentioned her a total of three times, and although he had tried to look for her before the funeral, he was a little too caught up in trying to cover up the shooting. He didn't want to lie to Jenny's only remaining family, but he knew to risk the truth would be risking Jenny's reputation, and he couldn't have that. Regardless of how she'd died, she'd served her country and was damn good at what she did. There was no reason to call into question whether or not the shooting had been a suicide mission. When he turned back up at his desk, the team said nothing, but McGee made a quick phone call that soon had Ducky coming up the stairs.

"Jethro, I hear you had a visitor this morning."

"Julia Winston, she was Jenny's younger sister," Gibbs informed cooly. 

"Are you sure?"

"Yes."

"And you're going to Miami..."

"She has information regarding her sister that could be sensitive," Gibbs replied, leaving out the bit about the possibility that the woman in the grave wasn't Jenny. He hadn't quite accepted that yet because if it wasn't Jenny, who was it and where the hell was Jenny? 

"Jethro, you can't..."

"Jenny is dead end of discussion. Grab your gear!" The team and Abby jumped following Gibbs, surprised when Ducky joined them. 

"I took the liberty of filing leave papers for everyone," Ducky informed. No one said anything beyond a thank you, all staring at Gibbs, who looked to be a ticking bomb. 

* * *

Five hours from being taken into custody, Hayley Wilson was still sitting at the interrogation table, staring into the bright blue eyes of Horatio Cane. His team had come and gone much the same as they had been five years ago, but Horatio remained. 

"Is this really necessary?"

"Ms. Wilson, what are you doing with Julia?"

"Julia and I are friends; we go way back."

"Did you know about Kyle?"

"Not until after the accident. I searched for my...for him; the foster system wasn't very helpful."

"Do you have children of your own?"

"No, no, I don't," she sighed. 

"Then, could you explain your presence at the Miami Dade child services."

"I was looking for someone else's child."

"Who?"

"My lovers."

"You're lover has a child who is not yours?"

"I was hoping to find the child alive, that was not the case."

"Did your lover have a name?" "He does."

"And it is?"

"I'm afraid I can't share that information."

"You were seen in the company of a drug runner...care to explain that?" Cane asked, pushing some surveillance photos across the desk.

"A drug lord killed the child and her mother. I was hoping they hadn't killed the child."

"Your lover certainly gets into things."

"It wasn't his fault, he wasn't even in the country," she defended. Eric Delco and Calleigh DuCaine entered the room again. 

"H," Eric began. "There are feds here, say there..."

"Naval CIS, otherwise known as..."

"NCIS," Hayley answered. "Looks like Julia told the truth after all."

"Julia?" Calleigh echoed. "What's she got to do with this?"

"Julia met the fine agents from NCIS, she was related to their former director," Cane explained. "Ms. Wilson, excuse me a moment."

"Sure interrogate NCIS, you'll find you won't have much success," She taunted. "I never did." Horatio glanced at her again before walking into the main lobby to find six people waiting patiently for him. 

"Lt. Cane," the silver hair man greeted.

"May I help you, gentlemen, ladies?"

"Special Agent Gibbs, NCIS, this my team. We're looking for Julia Winston."

"May I ask what this is about?"

"She's a suspect in the death of Director Jennifer Shepard," Gibbs informed. 

"Your Director was killed last May, Julia was here with me as was our son."

"Kyle, right?" Tony piped up before backing away at a Gibbs glare.

"Shall we at least do this civilized," the older man inquired. "Dr. Mallard, NCIS' ME."

"Of course, Dr. Mallard, conference room." 

"Guess they don't believe in Gibbs' conference room," the young woman dressed all in black remarked.

"Abby...shush," the foreign woman remarked. 

"We'll need all your names," Cane informed.

"Jethro Gibbs, that's Tony DiNozzo, Abby Scuito, our forensic examiner, Tim McGee, Ducky you've met, and Ziva David, Mossad."

"What does Mossad want with Miami Dade?" Cane asked.

"It's what I want with Julia Winston that matters," Ziva answered, glaring. 

"Very well, follow me." He stopped in front of another door where two other people stood. "Eric, Calleigh, escort Ms. Wilson home, Ms. Wilson don't go far." They heard a muffled response, and Tony looked back over his shoulder as he spotted a bare well-toned leg. He did a double-take and stopped in the hallway. _It can't be._

"Boss!" Tony called, trying to get Gibbs' attention. Nothing. "Hey, BOSS!" 

"What DiNozzo?" 

"How tall was the Director?"

"DiNozzo..."

"No serious question, Boss, how tall was she without the heels?"

"Tony," Ziva scolded, seeing that the questioning would not end well. The man addressed as Eric stepped out with his phone to his ear.

"H, that was the front desk Julia and Kyle are here."

"Let them down here," Horatio ordered. "This way, please, Agent Gibbs," Horatio continued walking down the hall. Tony kept looking behind him and watched as a woman stepped out from the door, and he froze, glancing her up and down. The proportions were in the right areas, and he watched as she walked up and met Julia and a teenage boy.

"You're grounded," the woman said loud enough to be heard.

"Hayley do calm down, nothing happened." 

"Boss," Tony hissed again this time, succeeding in getting him to turn.

"DiNozzo I don't want to..." he froze looking past Tony, and Tony exhaled if Gibbs saw it, then he couldn't be insane. Ziva turned as well with the others, and it was Abby who stepped out of the mold of frozen people and darted down the hall. "Abby!" Gibbs snapped, but the Goth was already standing between the Hayley woman and Julia.

"Stay the hell away from her," Abby barked.

"Abby..." came the soft voice that comforted. A hand rested on the Goth's shoulder. "It's okay Abby, Julia won't hurt me, it's okay." It was Abby who turned and flung her arms around the other woman and sobbed into her shoulder. The rest of the team watched as 'Hayley' comforted their littlest sister the way their mother always had. Tony was surprised when he felt movement beside him and Ziva running down the hallway to join the hug, a tear slipping through her hold. 

"Boss...this isn't..." Tony and McGee looked from Ducky and Gibbs back to the embracing women. Julia had stepped around them Kyle in tow. She wandered over to Horatio's side. 

"I told you, you buried the wrong woman," Julia reminded. That was all the reassurance Tony and McGee needed. They took off down the hall to stand just outside the hugging females. After all, they were big boys, and boys didn't cry. Ever. The woman before them was easily more identified as the green eyes looked up to meet theirs. 

"Guess Gemcity's new book is going to need an epilogue," Tony joked.

"Yea...just as well, Genie Shipford was a popular character," McGee replied. 

"Timothy..." came the light scolding of a voice they knew so well. The one that seemed to make the nightmare of the last six months vanish. Tony simply noticed one thing wrong with this when Ducky approached, Gibbs wasn't with him. Tony looked up, and down the hallway, Gibbs wasn't anywhere. "He left," the warm voice said. 

"But..."

"Not everyone can simply accept things, Tony, I think the words it's not fair are probably echoing around his brain."

"But...he should just be happy..."

"He will be, after the anger leaves," she replied. "Okay, Abbs, you're choking me." The Goth and Assassin quickly let go of their mother and stepped only a fraction away.

"Sorry, Direc..Jenn...Hayley?"

"Jenny is fine, Hayley was just an alias for the time being."

"Ima..." Ziva whispered. 

"I'm here, Ziva, promise," she assured stroking the younger woman's cheek. 

"I'm a little surprised to see you, Jennifer," came Ducky's voice.

"Hi, Ducky... I'm sorry you had to go through that," she replied gently. 

"It is past; all is forgiven."

"Not quite all," she sighed, looking around. "So, who's the bright idea was it to burn the house down?"

"Gibbs." Came the solid answer.

She laughed. "Figures."

"Ms. Wilson," came Cane's voice.

"Lt. Cane," she returned.

"I see you are not all you claimed to be."

"I was undercover, had to fulfill the mission first, that's why I was so hard to find afterward. Funny how our paths crossed, Julia never mentioned it until recently. I suppose we all learn to lie."

"Yes," Cane agreed. 

"Julia..." Jenny sighed dramatically. 

"Sister, dear?" 

"You had to dig."

"That's my job as the little sister I'm afraid," she remarked, sounding rather innocent. "You weren't kidding about the blue eyes, though."

"Julia," Jenny laughed lightly. 

"He stepped out for some air," Julia informed as Cane pointed in the direction. Jenny went in the direction, the team following slightly until she glanced back at them, giving her own version of the Gibbs' glare.

"You know we'll stay here," Tony piped up.

"Wouldn't want to get caught in the crossfire," Ziva remarked. Jenny turned back to the two of them. 

"I'm sorry you two had to be the ones; in all honesty, I was not expecting to live through it. I didn't want you two being hurt as well."

"He called...right when we..."

"I know," she sighed. "I was there." She turned on her heels and continued on the path. 

"What I wouldn't give to be a fly on the wall," McGee said suddenly. 

"Twenty bucks says he kisses first and asks questions later," Abby challenged. There was a sudden vivacity in the team that surprised Horatio, Julia, Eric, and Calleigh, but Ducky just laughed. 

"Lt. Cane, I do believe we'll need a viewing room." 

"And popcorn, World Wars are always best with popcorn," Tony stated. "McGeek, you should make the McBooks into McMovies."

"You'd enjoy that, wouldn't you?"

"Be my favorite film ever," Tony assured as they went up the second-floor catwalk with the glass windows. They could see the outside balcony and found Gibbs leaning against over the railing near the door. They saw the door opening...

\--

The door opened to the outside balcony as Jenny stepped outside. She paused a moment, just looking at him. He looked his age of fifty and a few, having aged more in the last six months then he had in six years. There was more silver in his hair, and he looked weary to her. She wondered if there were new injuries that she hadn't heard about, and couldn't help the guilt that rose at the thought that perhaps she was responsible for this. 

"Hello, Jethro," she greeted quietly. He said nothing. She stepped closer cautiously, knowing that to startle the lion might be to face the consequences. "Jeth..." She never got to finish his name. Her lips were stopped as she was trapped within his arms. 


	3. Chapter 3

Gibbs wasn't entirely sure what possessed him to take hold of her like that, but it was a little late to fix it. Perhaps it was the way her voice said his name, almost uncertain like he might not speak to her, maybe it was the smell of her perfume, the one he'd deny spraying around his house just to remember it, or perhaps it was just the warmth that suddenly engulfed him when she stepped closer. Maybe it was all of these things put together, but the result was his control snapping and his lips taking possession of hers, kissing her as he had nearly a decade ago. Kissing her as he dreamed about every day since he'd buried her and with that thought, his arms trapped her between him and the railing, holding her to prevent escape. He felt the tears and immediately let go, terrified that he'd hurt her but discovered that while she had them, it was his tears he'd felt. Once that was cleared up, he went back to kissing her, it was easier not to think, just act. She responded to the kisses surprised at first before fighting for control of them. The thought the whole team was probably watching and that they were in prime view of the public was the only reason he stopped. Her gasp for breath was a welcome sound, a sound that told him she was very much alive. His one hand drifted to her neck feeling her pulse point, reassuring himself that her blood was going through her heart and not spilling onto a dirty concrete floor. 

She looked up at him, and he noticed her eyes held a spark he hadn't seen in a few years. She was back, but in his mind, she never should have left. That thought resulted in the brief tightening of his hand at her throat, and only her voice stopped him.

"You can snap my neck later if you want. Don't do it in front of witnesses," she warned, and suddenly he was cautious. 

"Jen...Jenny..." it was about the whole thing he could say that made sense to him, and so he tightened his arms around her and pulled her into a hug that made Abby's hug look soft. "You're going under constant surveillance, and... I'm going to chain you to my wrist...and..."

"Whatever you want, Jethro," she assured amused with his newest ideas and yet understanding them. He held her at arm's length for a second and stared at her. 

"You don't look different."

"I thought we agreed to skip the you haven't changed a bit crap," she reminded.

"But...you were dead."

"No, no, I thought I was dead. It was Mike's idea."

"Franks?" "Yes. He found this life-size doll, looks, and feels the same as a real human, except they're not breathing. Fornell had had one made. He'd figured out what I was going to do when he heard about Decker's death."

"Fornell...I just saw...he didn't...I went to the Director of the FBI to save his sorry ass..."

"So I heard, don't blame him. He couldn't have told you."

"Your sister..."

"Ah yes Julia...my wayward little sister, she was in some trouble this past year, Fornell didn't exactly think when he told me to stay with her."

"So Hayley is?"

"Was a cover ID from 2003, I was undercover running a race car team, crossed paths with Lt. Cane, mission flopped was pulled to come back to DC, you know the rest."

"So, you killed someone?"

"No, someone on the team did, I suspected, but I couldn't prove it, and I couldn't reveal who I was without blowing the mission. Cane did a good enough job of that all by himself, though. Morrow wasn't happy. Later I find out he's the father of my nephew who I suspected was dead. It's a small world, you know."

"So Fornell sent you here to recover and then..."

"Then it was up to me, I was back as Hayley Wilson, but I couldn't go back to running a race car team, to high profile, so I figured I'd look after Julia and Kyle for a bit, scope out Cane, and go from there. Now that she and Horatio are starting to work things out Julia took matters into her own hands, she wanted to meet you and the team. I didn't think she would tattle on me."

"You never spoke about her..."

"She never spoke about me either; it was an excellent sister relationship."

"So, why are you back in custody?"

"Cane found some surveillance of what I've been doing in my spare time. I suppose it's of questionable legality."

"What have you done, Jen?" He demanded, sounding more like the man she remembered.

"The usual picked a fight with child services, integrated a drug runner, all fun stuff," she said with a faint smile. "Oh, and working on my tan while I drink margaritas."

"You're very own margarita safari?" He smirked. 

"You should try it," she suggested slipping out of his hold and turning toward the door.

"Jenny..."

"Your children are placing bets," she informed, tilting her head up and watching as a few ducked out of sight. She was halfway in the door when Gibbs caught her.

"Let them." He held her and kissed her repeatedly breaking off only to tease her. "For the record, I'm still mad at you."

"Hm...I can live with that," she assured. 


	4. Chapter 4

“Think they’ll come up for air anytime soon?” Abby asked, watching what was turning into a marathon kissing session below them. 

“Maybe they’ll forget they’re in public?” Tony hoped. His eyes couldn’t focus and kept going from the Boss and the Boss’ Boss making out like teenagers and the Boss’ Boss’ sister. The kid was kind of a turn-off, but he could still look.

“DiNozzo,” McGee sighed.  _ Predictable as ever. _

“Shut it, McProbie, or I’ll make you go down and break it up.”

“Not for all the money in the world,” McGee piped up. 

“Maybe you should do it, Tony, as Senior Field Agent and all,” Ziva suggested. 

“I’m happy where I am, Ducky?”

“I’ve walked in...”

“You WHAT?” Abby and Tony shrieked. 

“When?”

“What happened?” Came the rapid-fire questioning. Ducky seemed a bit flustered. 

“I’ll...just go and get them,” he stumbled, turning to avoid the team and their glances. “Lt. Cane, will you need them?”

“Tell her not go far,” Horatio answered, dismissing his team. “Julia, Kyle.”

“Horatio give me a minute,” Julia insisted, turning back to the window to watch. Horatio sighed and stood by her, nodding for Kyle to go. They watched as Ducky went down the stairs and saw him pause at the door hesitating in opening it and disturbing his friends.

“You go, Duck-Man!” Abby encouraged, and the door was pushed open.

  
  


Jenny was quite happily engaged in the kisses. She forgot where they were, all the reasons they shouldn’t be doing this. She would have quite happily continued in that little world that consisted of her and Jethro, but it was disturbed by a loud Humph! She and Gibbs split apart only able to move so far as their arms were entangled around the other.

“Ducky,” Gibbs growled, not at all happy at being forced from her kisses. He’d spent enough time without her. Ducky smiled at the glares he was receiving; honestly, they were two peas in a pod.

“Abigail was concerned that one or both of you would pass out if you weren’t attended to,” Ducky informed, glancing up at the team pressed against the second-floor window.

“And...” Jenny trailed off. There was always more to the story.

“Well, I may have let a little secret slip,” Ducky replied.

“For your sake, Ducky, I hope you didn’t,” Gibbs warned, glaring up at his team and watching as they moved away, leaving just Julia waiting. 

“Naturally, Jethro,” Ducky answered, going back in.

“Shall I deal with him?” Jenny inquired. Gibbs chuckled, wrapping his arm around her. 

“Team first, then Ducky.” They reentered the building to hear a loud commotion and soon found the team dashing into a line in front of them. They said nothing but glared, and the group followed them as they walked towards the exit. Horatio was waiting for them.

“Ms...”

“Shepard, but I would appreciate it if that stayed between us,” she said.

“Naturally,” Horatio answered. “You’re free to go, Ms. Wilson, don’t go far. Agent Gibbs, I trust you can monitor her whereabouts.”

“Won’t be an issue,” Gibbs assured. “She’s not going anywhere without me.” Jenny heard a click of metal and felt something around her wrists. Tony let out a low whistle as Jenny tugged her hand only to find herself handcuffed to Gibbs.

“Jethro!” She snapped. 

“Go, Boss!” Tony praised. Tony felt his head go forward. “Sorry, Boss.” He was sad to discover that Gibbs could still head slap him. 

“Let’s go,” Gibbs ordered, gesturing for his team to head toward the elevator. They were moving past as Julia and Kyle stepped into view. 

“I’ll see you back at the house,” Julia said to Jenny as Kyle hugged her.

“If you don’t mind a few house guests.”

“I have plenty of space.” 

“Good.” Jenny turned to leave her sister, and Gibbs stopped her. 

“Thank you,” he said quietly to the blonde woman. She cocked her head to the side. 

“You can thank me later,” she said teasingly.

“JULIA!” Jenny snapped, tugging harder on her wrist and watched with glee as Gibbs was pulled towards her. Julia, laughing, followed them. Gibbs wrapped an arm around her, and she turned back to find Julia watching. The look she sent her sister sent the message very clear: MINE. 

The rest of the day was spent catching up. Jenny spent an hour with Tony and Ziva, gently talking over their roles in what they thought was her death. She’d then sat with Abby as she sobbed into her shoulder, and they got caught up on their girl talk. McGee had stood silently in the corner during that conversation, and as Jenny got up to leave the room, she had placed her hand on his shoulder and smiled gently. It was all the reassurance he needed that things would work themselves out. In return, he told her that Ducky was looking for her. That was a conversation Jenny was not looking forward to, but less so than then one that would no doubt be incredibly painful with Jethro. She found Ducky in the library that Julia had set up a few months ago. 

“Ducky,” she greeted quietly.

“Ah, Direc...Jennifer,” he returned, blushing at his blunder.

“We haven’t talked in a while.”

“Jennifer, we spoke...”

“As friends, you always called me Director,” she reminded. 

“Yes, well, it seemed more appropriate.” They sat in silence for a minute before Jenny tried again.

“You kept my secret, and for that, I’m grateful. I’m sorry you had to be in that position.”

“I still think you should have told him,” Ducky responded.

“I know, in the end, I didn’t think it would matter much.”

“He found the letter, or rather beginning of a letter.”

“I imagined he had after I saw the house on TV.”

“Director Vance believed it was a more appropriate cover,” Ducky informed his tone, suggesting just what he thought about that.

“I figured that might have been it.”

“And Jethro broke your card table.”

“Fit of rage?” She joked.

“No.” She sat up straight at the tone. “He lured Svetlana to the house. Franks had to shoot her. She fell on the table.”

“Mike? But...Why didn’t Jethro shoot her?”

“He didn’t have his gun.”

“He calls a known killer and doesn’t have his gun?” She asked in disbelief.

“The gun was sitting on your desk; Franks did ask if he was going to go for it after the fact.”

“And?”

“Gibbs never answered. The team was split up after the funeral.”

“I’d heard that,” she said quietly. “I could’ve killed Vance for it.”

“They all could have, Jethro, got them back, though.”

“I wouldn’t expect anything less.” The silence fell around them again. “How...how is he really?”

“I don’t know, Jennifer, and that’s what worries me.” She nodded her response. 

“Where is he?”

“He went to sit on the boat.” 

“Very Jethro,” she laughed lightly. She stood, grabbing a bottle of bourbon and two glasses from the shelf. Ducky watched her leave and sent a silent prayer for his two friends. Jenny passes Julia in the hall, and her sister grabbed her arm to stop her.

“You know that stuff isn’t very good for you.”

“Just because you don’t like bourbon, doesn’t mean I can’t.”

“You’re angry.”

“What do you think?”

“I know you didn’t want them to know Jenny, but...”

“Don’t you, but me, Julia, you had no idea what I was running from.”

“I know who you’re running to,” she stated. Jenny met her glare. “You’re running to your Jethro.”

“He’s not mine,” Jenny snapped.

“I think he might disagree with you.” Jenny remained silent. “I made my mistakes Jenny; I left Horatio, I didn’t listen to him when I found him again. I tried hard to protect Kyle, but it wasn’t enough without him. Horatio and I...I didn’t think we’d ever be more than just Kyle’s parents, but we are more, we are more to each other.”

“Julia...you think just because...”

“I don’t think, I know. Give him a chance Jenny,” Julia cautioned. 

“Mom!”

“Julia!” The voices of Horatio and Kyle sounded up the stairs. 

“Be right there,” Julia called back down. “He’s out on the boat,” Julia whispered to her sister before heading down. 

Jenny watched with surprise as her sister, usually cold and calculating, embraced her son lovingly and then turned to the father, kissing him gently. She watched Horatio wrap his arms around her, holding her as he handed her a pill bottle. She was shocked and pulled back from the railing. Her sister’s illness was something they both took great lengths to hide, yet this man, this Horatio Cane, knew. She had admired Cane when she met him undercover; she could live with his relationship with her sister.  _ Apparently, Julia can live with Gibbs, _ she thought before turning to head outside. 


	5. Chapter 5

Jenny strolled down the dock to the boat. She spotted Jethro standing on the stern, watching the horizon. She carefully slipped aboard and approached him coming just behind him before she turned.

"Should I be worried?" He inquired.

"About?"

"The last man you met on a boat ended up in the drink with a bullet through his skull." Jenny scowled. 

"It was deserved, you, I'm not so sure about."

"You know Fornell could never conclusively say the bullet matched your gun. He told me he would need the magazine. Funny how I ended up with that magazine."

"Would you have turned me in?"

"No, but I wouldn't have turned you in if you had told me your plan either."

"You would have just tried to stop me."

"Damn straight, do you know what could have happened to you, Jen?" He demanded, and she was glad to see the anger she knew so well, finally surfacing.

"Jethro, I did what I had to do, may not have been right, but it wasn't wrong either. I would think you of all people could understand it."

"That doesn't explain your latest stunt," Gibbs snapped. 

"I thought Mike explained that to you."

"He left out the part where you survived."

"He didn't know for sure, Fornell did."

"Yea, I'll deal with him later."

"I was trying to protect you, Jethro."

"I don't want your protection if that's the price."

"Too bad," she bit back. "You're getting it anyway."

"Ducky said you were...you lied to me."

"I didn't lie to you; I just didn't tell you the whole truth."

"No fair, you can't use my lines against me."

"Yes I can, I was also following your rules, Rule 8."

"Yea, I think I'm going to come up with all set of rules just for you, you twist those too easily."

"I had a good teacher," Jenny teased. Gibbs sat down, and she sat beside him, keeping her eyes focused on the horizon as she felt his on her form. 

"If your sister hadn't turned up...would you have come back?"

"No," Jenny answered and felt him flinch slightly. "I don't think I would have," she elaborated. "I didn't know if I had convinced Svtlena and the rest of her team or if I had just taken the edge off. If they could find you as they found me, they would have killed you and your team. I did what was best for all of us."

"Well, it's my turn now."

"Your turn?" Jenny questioned.

"To do what's best for all of us, and that starts with you coming home."

"Jethro..."

"Or we could both retire, go on a margarita safari together for a change," Gibbs suggested.

"What?" Gibbs paused, keeping his eyes away from hers.

"I thought a lot about leaving after the funeral. The team was split up. It just didn't feel the same anymore. I'm tired, Jen, I'm getting too old for this all-day run. I thought if I could get the team back, then I could leave Tony in charge, and they'd be fine on their own."

"They wouldn't let you walk out of their lives again."

"I know, but they don't need me there all the time either. The kids have to leave the nest someday."

"You're serious."

"DiNozzo's ready to be a leader. I wasn't going to get to keep him much longer anyway."

"You would be lonely."

"Well, I figured Franks could use some company. Thought about traveling too."

"You hate traveling."

"Yea...wouldn't mind going back to Serbia though, or Italy, London maybe," he told her.

"By yourself?"

"I couldn't take anyone else." Jenny shifted closer to him, knowing they both needed the contact. "I found the letter." 

"The one I didn't finish." Gibbs turned to look at her trying to see if anything was different. "It's gone now. To get the bullets out was risky, they figured they might as well try to remove the tumors as well."

"You lived through it."

"Barely. I was dead when they got to me. I would say this fell in the miracle category."

"Second chance at life," Gibbs guessed.

"It was hard. I had spent so many weeks coming to terms with death that I didn't quite know what to do. I couldn't go back to NCIS, so Fornell put me with my sister."

"You could have come to me."

"You thought I was dead."

"I didn't want to believe it. I have some of your stuff...from the house."

"Like?"

"A couple of sweaters, your perfume, your keepsake box, your badge, your pillow."

"My pillow?" Gibbs tried to hide the bashful blush. "Oh, Jethro..." Jenny trailed off, not knowing what to say. "Things were changing; we were different from each other."

"Yea..." Gibbs could remember the way they changed, him waking up on her couch, Jen tucked in beside him, the screen for a DVD in front of them. The first of many such mornings. Till the morning where she was gone forever.

"The team didn't know."

"No." He cleared his throat. "There's just one other thing."

"You're allowed to be angry about more than one thing Jethro, I certainly wouldn't fault you."

"No...this is about your latest venture. Cane showed me some surveillance photos," Gibbs paused. "You got a habit I should know about?" Jenny glared. "Or not. He said you were looking for your lovers' child." The lover had a bitter taste to him. She froze beside him. "You moved on." It wasn't an accusation.

"No," but she felt she had to deny it. "I never moved on. Not from you."

"So this child story..."

"Isn't a lie." Gibbs watched as she stood up and put space between them. "I looked into their deaths after you went to Mexico."

"And..." he didn't want to get his hopes.

"And there was a reason I never told you."

"Because of what?"

"Because if the truth wasn't different from what you knew, I would never forgive myself for getting your hopes up."

"And if the truth was different?"

"I would have been happy for you."

"What?"

"I would have made you happy once in all the time trying, that has to count for something, right?"

"You make me happy, Jen, just by being you."

"You're not a very good liar, Jethro, we both know I made you anything but happy, especially lately."

"That..." Gibbs sighed, he'd fight this battle after he found out what she'd discovered. "Is the truth different?"

"No, no, it wasn't. There were rumors that Kelly survived, I found someone who was there, no one survived. The only thing..." Jenny paused, turning back to him. "She was asleep when it happened. She didn't feel a thing." 

Gibbs said nothing, and she dropped her head, turning away. He stood up and moved closer to her wrapping his arms tight around her, pulling her to him. He ran his fingers through her red locks inhaling the soft scent that he'd missed so much. Perfume was only so good, but it never added up to the smell that was just Jen. Gibbs had never thought he'd get the chance to hold her again, to touch her again. He wasn't going to let anything stand in his way this time. Jenny was just going to have to deal with the fact that someone else got to decide what was best for a change. 

"You are what makes me happy," Gibbs whispered in her ear.

"How can I make you happy, when all I bring you is death," Jenny whispered back, and he felt the tears against her cheek.

"Because you don't bring death, you bring hope." Gibbs kissed her again, as he had back in the crime lab. Jenny kissed him back just as passionately. When he pulled back, she was smiling faintly, her green eyes alive and sparkling. "You know what they say."

"What do they say?"

"Third time's the charm."

"Hm...really?"

"Yes, really," he told her, reaching behind him. "As I said before, it's my turn to decide what's best, and that starts with you and me." Jenny felt metal around her wrist again and pulled. 

"Again, with the handcuffs?"

"I only took them off because Tony and Ziva were reporting on your whereabouts in the house." 

"Your loyal St. Bernard till the end."

"You know back in the day cavemen used to raid tribes for mates, and they would tie a rope around them so they were joined and they girl couldn't run away. Later after she'd gotten the point, he simply tied a string around her finger to remind her."

"I see...so you're resorting back to this...primitive idea?"

"Well, no, see the rope gives you to much of a leash, handcuffs keep you close by. Besides, I like your neck free of obstacles; a collar would be too much of a hindrance."

"Hindrance for what?" She received her answers in the form of kisses and nips along her neck. "Jethro..." she growled.

"Did I mention cavemen used to mark their mates too?"

"I'm starting to see the resemblance."

"Hey, Boss!" Came the loud interruption.

"Di-Interruptus."

"Jethro..."

"He's always making fun of McGee."

"Hey, Boss!" 

"What DiNozzo?"

"Uh...the plane? We're supposed to leave tonight, and then Vance has been calling off the hook. He wants to know where we are. Probie is stalling, but..."

"Gibbs!" Ziva and Abby came running down the docks with McGee in tow.

"What?"

"Well, Vance won't stop calling, we've got Ducky stalling.

"Jenny, Julia wants..." Jenny and Jethro turned to one another, and Gibbs started moving towards the edge, pulling them both towards the end to get off the boat.

"You know cavemen also used to separate the female from her children so she would want to reproduce again," Gibbs informed.

"Oh, really?" Jenny inquired. 

"Yep, hold on." 

"Hold on? Hold on for..." she watched as Gibbs pulled his knife from his pocket. In one swoop, the line was cut, and the boat started drifting away from the dock. 

"Boss!" Jenny watched as the ropes slowly came undone. The boat had only one line to tie it to the dock, and it was already running in reverse. She missed that when she got on board. She watched as the team started running down the pier to try to catch the boat, and Julia, Kyle, and Horatio came out as well. Julia waved goodbye.

"Jethro!"

"I thought it was an excellent plan."

"Jethro...your team..."

"The children can survive without mommy and daddy for a bit."

"I don't have any clothes."

"You won't need any."

"Where are we going?"

"Bahamas sound nice? We could go to Mexico too..."

"Jethro..."

"Jenny," he whined in the same tone. She put her hands on her hips as best she could be cuffed to him. His fingers traced her hipbone gently. 

"You going to un-cuff me?"

"Once we get out of the harbor. You'll be too scared of sharks to jump in then."

"This is your grand plan?"

"Well, your sister happened to mention you have a thing for guys with blue eyes and that Lt. Cane over there reminded you of the man you love, so...I have blue eyes about the same shade and..."

"And?"

"Well, after a few weeks alone, you'll be so enamored..."

"That was the plan."

"Good plan, right?"

"Not exactly," Jenny replied, moving closer and leaning against him.

"Oh?"

"You could've just said, 'Jen, I think we should get away.' And I would have sailed the world with you," she answered.

"Really?" Jenny nodded. "Why?"

"Because idiot, I already love you, so all you're accomplishing is giving yourself time to become enamored with me," She challenged.

"Problem with that theory too."

"Oh?"

"Well, I already love you, and even more so now that you're not six feet under so, I guess we'll just have to go sail off into the sunset."

"Uh-huh...just one thing."

"Hm?"

"Don't ask me to marry you."

"Don't ask me, and I won't ask you."

"Excellent, but since you did burn down my house and such, you get to buy me a new wardrobe."

"I can live with that."

"And I'm still mad about this unexpected trip."

"I can live with that too," Gibbs assured. 

"Oh, really?"

"Yep, I find you angry, an incredible turn on."

"So anytime during any of our fights all, I would have had to was kiss you..."

"Oh, and I be done for." 

"So how long does it take to get to Mexico?"

"A month."

"Hm...well then...I have plenty of time."

"Time for what?"

"To tire you out."

"Woman, you can't pace yourself," Gibbs informed.

"Maybe...maybe not, wouldn't you like to find out?" Jenny was about to kiss him again when they heard the beeping of phones. "Don't suppose we could toss them in the water?"

"We might need them eventually, we can turn them off," and Gibbs did just that and tossed them below deck. As they passed the last buoy and there was nothing but the open sea, Gibbs undid the handcuffs and was about to throw them overboard when Jenny caught his hand. 

"No polluting the ocean, Jethro."

"Fish hugger."

"No, I want these for myself." They heard a beeping noise and looked over to their GPS tracker. 

"Coded message."

"For us?"

"From Fornell... 'Team called, they claim you've disappeared, I can have her on satellite in five minutes, won't tell DiNutso. See you in a month or two.'"

"See what happens when you cooperate with sister agencies?"

"I bow to your infinite wisdom," Gibbs teased. "So, first stop?"

"Hm...wherever the winds take us?"

"Works for me." He leaned down and kissed her again. 

"Think they're watching?"

"Let them."

THE END

  
  



End file.
